In an autonomous vehicle capable of driving from one location to another without one or more inputs typically provided by a human operator, e.g., steering, a steering wheel is no longer needed to pilot the vehicle. However, present vehicles typically rely on a steering wheel to house a driver-side airbag. Further, the lack of a steering wheel can handicap vehicle development by making it more difficult to place a vehicle under a driver's control. Driver control is desirable during vehicle development for purposes including, by way of example, evaluating a vehicle's response to extreme dynamic maneuvers such as rapid lane changes. An inability to manually steer the vehicle can result in placing test drivers at higher risk, as it would be more difficult to moderate or abort such maneuvers made under autonomous control, or make such maneuvers with an unfamiliar electronic control such as a joystick. Further, some vehicle owners may prefer the familiarity of being in a vehicle having a steering wheel, or a steering wheel may be needed to allow a vehicle occupant to assume control, even if the steering wheel is inactive in an autonomous mode.